


Hold Me Tight (Or Don't)

by Mostly_Dead_Inside



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Community: avengerkink, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, POV Steve Rogers, Tony Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 23:26:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15278523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mostly_Dead_Inside/pseuds/Mostly_Dead_Inside
Summary: Although Steve knows Tony is happy with Pepper, he seems to be the only person who can help calm Tony down. Since Pepper is freaking amazing, of course she gives Steve permission to help Tony out.Filled out for a prompt on Avengerkink





	Hold Me Tight (Or Don't)

**Author's Note:**

> This work could alternatively be titled: Summer Break is Boring AF So I'm Going To Go Through Avengerkink Until My Brain Leaks Out of My Ears. 
> 
> I apologize for the reference in the title, I'm can't leave my other fandoms out of this, sorry.

"It's been such a long day, I can't wait to finally eat," Tony groaned, sinking back into the couch, drink in hand.

"Exactly how long was your day?" Steve asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'd say somewhere around fifty hours," Tony replied, too tired to even look up as he spoke. "I'm fine though, I've gone a whole lot longer without sleep. JARVIS made sure I drank something that, unfortunately, wasn't alcohol. I'm fine."

Sighing, Steve sat down on the couch beside the younger man.

"You really need to start, y'know, acting like a normal human being, with like, normal needs and stuff," he said, laying a hand on Tony's shoulder. 

"To do that, I would actually need to be human," Tony retorted. Despite his sarcasm, Steve noticed the other man relaxing minutely, shifting slightly into the contact. It didn't last long, and soon Steve was getting up to head to bed, leaving a firm "Go to sleep soon" behind him, but he had noticed. Oh yes, he had noticed.

~~~~~~

It was a few days later when Steve remembered that evening.

He had been making himself a sandwich late at night (early in the morning?) when he heard the sound of the elevators doors sliding open. Grabbing the sandwich, he headed out to see who was up and was not surprised to see Tony, seemingly out of it. He was muttering to himself, and tugging at his hair as he crossed the room.

Sighing, Steve set his sandwich down, anticipating that he would have to interfere before Tony overworked himself.

He only noticed Steve's presence when he ran right into him, coming up against a solid wall of muscle. Glancing up, he smiled tightly before trying to maneuver his way around Steve.

"Nope," Steve chided, grabbing him by the wrists. "You're exhausted. I'm not letting you do anything else tonight, you're going to bed."

Tony looked up at him with tired eyes, clearly frustrated. "I just need to finish a few things and then I'll be done," he replied, frowning.

"Yeah, but that's what you said last time too, and I'm pretty sure you haven't slept since then. You're going to bed."

Steve scooped Tony into his arms and carried him over to the elevator. Tony, protesting the entire time, soon started to relax. By the time they reached his room, he was almost completely lax in Steve's arms.

Steve set him down on the bed next to Pepper, and for a moment he could have sworn she winked at him, but the moment passed and he dismissed it.

"G'night," Tony mumbled, already halfway to sleep.

"G'night," Steve replied, walking into the hall and shutting the door behind him.

~~~~~~

For the next few weeks, Steve did nothing more than simply observe. Every time Tony seemed stressed, even when he wasn't, the moment someone touched him, he started to relax. The longer he was touched for, the more relaxed he became. He also noticed that it worked better with some people. Natasha could touch him, and he'd be just as tense as before, whereas Bruce was able to loosen him up within the space of a few minutes. Still, Steve wasn't sure how to feel about it. Should he act on the new information, or should he just let it slide?

Instead of pursuing either of those options, he decided to go talk to Pepper.

"Hey, Steve," she smiled as he walked over to where she was working. "Give me a second and I'll be good to talk, okay?"

"You know, it's just something stupid, doesn't really matter anyway," Steve said, regretting this idea. It wasn't anything serious, didn't warrant a conversation with Tony, let alone his girlfriend. But Pepper smiled at him, and gestured towards a seat. "Really. Sit down, I'll be done in a minute."

True to her words, a few minutes later she shut her laptop and glanced up.

"How can I help you, Steve?" she asked, leaning across the desk towards him. "I'm assuming this is about Tony, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me."

Yet again, Steve had sorely miscalculated how perceptive Pepper was.

"I have to admit, you have me there," he replied. "It's just something I noticed. I figured you should probably know, you know, nothing bad, just it helps him a bit. I just thought-"

"Is Captain America blushing?" she teased. A faint flush had spread across Steve's cheeks, coloring them slightly darker.

"I know it's not really my place to be saying anything, but I just want Tony to be alright," he continued.

"Go on," she prompted, brows furrowed.

"I've been noticing that whenever someone's touching Tony he just seems more relaxed," he confided. Immediately after, he felt ridiculous, which was most definitely not something he liked to feel or felt often. But Pepper didn't seem to be judging him. She leaned back thoughtfully in her chair.

"I've noticed that too," she said, and added, almost like an afterthought, "It seems to work most with you, though."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, confused.

"What I mean is that you seem to be the person who calms him down the most." At Steve's look of shock, she waved a hand in the air at him. "I mean, sure, I can get him to relax a bit, but with you, he just calms down right away. He really likes you. You're just overall better for him, I think." she finished.

"But he loves you," Steve said, frowning.

"Oh, I know he does. And I love him. That's not negotiable. I'm just saying, if you were to help the man I love, I would owe you one." And with that, the meeting was apparently over.

~~~~~~

It was hard to tell when Tony was more stressed than usual as he was usually in a constant state of stress. But as time passed, it was getting easier to tell when Tony needed touch, easier to tell if he should just sling an arm around his shoulder or if he should hug Tony, holding him until he could feel the tension drain away.

It felt good, having someone need him like that, knowing that he was the one who could help Tony the most. Peppers eyes were always on him but they were never reproaching, only satisfied, content, thankful. Of course he was going to do whatever he needed to help the two of them.

Then one day, Steve was pretty sure this was the worst point he had ever seen Tony at. He was used to messy hair, bags under the eyes, disassociation, losing loads of weight, all this and more. But things seemed worse this time. Tony hadn't surfaced from the lab in over a week, and knowing him, it was doubtful he had slept since he went down. JARVIS wasn't letting anyone in, and Tony wasn't accepting any calls. The entire team was worried.

"JARVIS, if you don't let me down I will personally shut down your entire system. I sure as hell don't know how, but I'm pretty sure Natasha can figure something out," he threatened the machine.

"Mr. Stark forbade me from letting anyone enter the laboratory," Jarvis replied, unrelenting.

"Jarvis I swear to god-" Steve was cut off by the A.I. continuing.

"However, I think it would be for the best that you go down."

That's when Steve knew it was bad.

The entire ride down, he was silently urging the elevator to go faster, even though he realized it was completely ridiculous. There was no way to speed it up, but that didn't stop him from hoping.

The second the doors opened, Steve rushed past, barging through the doors to the lab as JARVIS opened them as fast as possible. And then he was inside, looking around frantically for any sign of Tony.

When he saw the younger man, he was slumped over a workbench, asleep.

Steve exhaled, releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The relief, however, didn't last long. As he drew closer and closer, more details came into focus, and the billionaire sitting in front of him was quite obviously not okay.

Sighing, Steve walked over to him as quietly as possible. For a few moments, he just stood there, studying Tony, before reaching over to gently shake his shoulder.

"Hm?" Tony groaned, slowly opening his eyes and looking up.

"Steve?" he asked, quickly becoming more and more alert. "How did you even get down here? I told JARVIS not to let anyone down unless I said so."

"Yeah, well, JARVIS decided you were being an idiot and decided your friends should come find you before you unintentionally kill yourself," he replied, letting the frustration and anger he was feeling show in his voice.

Tony looked taken aback, not used to Steve talking to him that way. "I'm fine, obviously," he said gesturing to himself. That really wasn't helping his case.

"You're going to go to bed now, and you're going to sleep, okay?" Steve said, crossing his arms.

"Like hell I am," Tony replied, diverting his attention back to the project in front of him. "I have some things to finish up, I can't afford sleep right now, Cap. You're not really supposed to care about my well-being as long as I keep you safe."

Steve could feel the frustration building up, and tried to distract himself before he did something he would probably regret.

"Is that really what you think, Tony?" he asked, not waiting for a reply. "Because that's a load of bullshit, and you know it. I'm here because we're friends, and friends care whether or not you've slept in the past five days." Leaning forward, he grabbed Tony gently by the arms and hauled him up. "And either you walk upstairs with me, or I drag you the entire way."

As soon as he let go, the shorter man collapsed, knees buckling, back into his arms, too tired to stand up. Steve looked down at him as Tony laid his head against his chest, sinking further into Steve's arms.

"Looks like I'll be carrying you then," he said before scooping him up again and walking towards the elevator. As the doors shut behind them, he was reminded of a few weeks back when he had had to do this.

When they reached Tony's floor, Tony curled up in Steve's arms, holding on around his neck.

As they walked down the hall, Tony started to relax minutely, although he was still extremely tense. Steve walked backwards into the room, leaving the door open behind him as he set Tony down gently.

"You can finish whatever it is you're working on after you've slept and eaten something, okay?" he murmured, turning to leave. He was stopped by Tony grabbing the end of his shirt.

"Stay," he said weakly, not letting go.

"Tony, I-" Steve looked away, overwhelmed. "I can't, you know I can't."

There was a movement behind him as Pepper sat up, rustling the sheets as she did so.

"Stay, Steve," she echoed. "He needs it tonight. Please."

After a moment of hesitation, Steve crawled into the bed, laying on the edge as the two others shuffled over to make room. He stayed facing Tony as the other man wrapped his arms around Steve's waist, tucking his head below the older man's chin. Steve could see Pepper wrap her arms around Tony's waist as he did the same, and there he stayed for the rest of the night, feeling the tension drain out of Tony bit by bit.

In the morning, he woke up with Tony tucked into him even closer, if that was possible. Pepper was holding his hand over the other man, and he closed his eyes. He allowed himself to bask in the perfection of this moment for a few more minutes, before he started to untangle himself. As he started, he felt Pepper squeeze his hand. When he looked up, she was staring at him. Slowly, making sure he was watching, she shook her head.

"Stay," she whispered, pulling his hand closer. And so he stayed, until the sun had risen, until Tony woke up, and then just a bit longer.

For the next two weeks, the Captain slept in his own bed. Then, after those two weeks, he never slept in "his" bed again. And life was better, for everyone.


End file.
